Hyderabad BRTS snippets

With road widening being the main problem among others for a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Hyderabad, the state government has now proposed a BRTS in the surrounding areas of the city to ease congestion and improve connectivity. A BRTS has been proposed from Rethibowli to Kukatpally via Gachibowli covering about 19 km and another from Mehdipatnam to Uppal, a distance of about 20 km to connect the Inner Ring Road (IRR) and Outer Ring Road (ORR). The state government has decided to have BRTS only on ORR and IRR where the roads are 150 ft wide as the city roads are congested. For starters, BRTS is a dedicated bus corridor on the road for special buses. The project has been a success in cities like Bogota, capital of Colombia, and is cited as a model the worldover. As part of the proposal, the GHMC has proposed BRTS in seven routes in the city. Moosarambagh bridge to Chaderghat Bridge along Musi South Bank (3.5 km), Punjagutta to Erragadda (4.5 km), Mehdipatnam to Uppal (17 km), Moosarambagh Bridge to Chaderghat North Bank of Musi (3.5 km), Owaisi Hospital-Chandrayanagutta, Bandlaguda and Aramghar junction (9.5 km) and Bapughat to Chaderghat (12 kms). The estimated project cost is Rs 496 crore. The GHMC has sent the proposal to the Centre to get funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The corporation has asked traffic experts of IIT Delhi and the Administrative Staff College of India to study a corridor - Uppal to Mehdipatnam - and submit a report on the viability. Under the BRTS model, a dedicated lane with 63 ft width should be left for BRTS buses. However, most of the city roads are 100 ft wide except some roads like SP Road where the width is 150 ft. If 63 ft are left for BRTS buses, hardly 40 ft is left for two wheelers and four wheelers including RTC buses, insufficient to take normal traffic. Sources said the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is proposing BRTS on some more roads on the IRR which will be finalised soon. It may be recalled that the city BRTS project was shelved after accidents were reported in BRTS corridors in New Delhi and Pune a few months ago. After that the government put off proposals in New Delhi except a pilot road.